Intelligence Suggests Assad Not Behind Chemical Weapons Attack

Intercepted phone calls indicate Syrian government did not order attack

Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
August 28, 2013

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Intercepted phone calls that will be presented by the Obama administration as proof that Bashar Al-Assad was behind last week’s chemical weapons attack in Syria actually suggest that the attack was not ordered by the Syrian government.

Phone calls by the Syrian Ministry of Defense intercepted by Mossad and passed to the US reveal that Syrian government officials, “exchanged panicked phone calls with a leader of a chemical weapons unit, demanding answers for a nerve agent strike that killed more than 1,000 people,” in the hours after last week’s attack.

Why would the Syrian Ministry of Defense be making panicked phone calls “demanding answers” about the attack if they had ordered it?

The fact that the highest levels of the Syrian government apparently had no knowledge of the attack strongly suggests that they did not order it, with the worst case scenario being that the attack was “the work of a Syrian officer overstepping his bounds,” writes Foreign Policy’s Noah Shachtman.

“We don’t know exactly why it happened,” a US intelligence official told Foreign Policy. “We just know it was pretty fucking stupid.”

So despite not knowing exactly what happened, why it happened, or who ordered it, while sabotaging the UN’s investigation of the incident, the US is about to launch cruise missile attacks and potentially enflame the entire region based on evidence that actually suggests the Syrian government had no idea who was behind the chemical weapons attack.

Meanwhile, previous evidence that suggests the US-backed rebels prepared and used chemical weapons on numerous occasions has been completely forgotten in the rush to war.

The last time the United Nations investigated evidence of chemical weapons use in Syria, inspectors concluded that it was likely the rebels and not Assad’s forces who were behind the attacks.

Experts Doubt Syrian Chemical Weapons Claims

Photo credit: http://www.dw.de

Washington’s Blog
August 24, 2013

CBS News reports that the U.S. is finalizing plans for war against Syria – and positioning ships to launchcruise missiles against the Syrian government – based on the claim that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its people.

The last time the U.S. blamed the Syrian government for a chemical weapons attack, that claim was was debunked.

But is the claim that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its people true this time?

It’s not surprising that Syria’s close ally – Russia – is expressing doubt.  Agence France-Presse (AFP)notes:

Russia, which has previously said it has proof of chemical weapons use by the rebels, expressed deep scepticism about the opposition’s claims.

The foreign ministry said the timing of the allegations as UN inspectors began their work “makes us think that we are once again dealing with a premeditated provocation.”

But Russia isn’t the only doubter.

Israeli Bombs Over Syria, Part Two

Daniel McAdams
Lew Rockwell Blog
May 5, 2013

For the second day in a row, the Israeli government is reported to have bombed Syria — this time near Damascus — according to reporting by theWashington Post.

As the Washington Post — itself deeply in the ideological pockets of the left-neocons — concludes, this is Israel’s response to American skepticism over its lurid tales, without evidence, of chemical weapons use by the Syrian government:

“The attack Friday coincided with mounting pressure on the Obama administration to formulate a response to the growing risk of weapons proliferation in the Syrian war, notably the possibility that chemical weapons are being used in the conflict and could fall into the hands of extremists.”

Translation: “We told you a red-line violating story and you did not believe us. Time for Plan B. We’re going in.”

The Washington Post piece also confirms that the Israeli military clearly backs up the Islamist insurgency fighting the Syrian government, made up primarily of al-Qaeda in Syria (AIS):

“There were reports Friday that an overnight rebel mortar attack had caused a huge blaze at the Damascus airport, with a video posted online showing at least two locations on fire. But the Lebanese security official said the blasts, which woke him up, were bigger than those caused by mortar shells and that his Syrian counterparts had confirmed to him that the source was an Israeli strike.”

It’s not rocket science — the Israeli military and the insurgents share the same targets. Does the Washington Post realize the implications of its reporting?

The passive-aggressive US State Department, which is curiously — or not — silent every time its beloved insurgents commit an atrocity of a Boston-on-steroids scale against Christians and others who do not support al-Qaeda in Syria, has nevertheless suddenly found its voice to condemn Syrian government for a “massacre” in Baida, where seven bodies have been found killed in possible retaliation for the killing of seven members of the Syrian Army.

The US is suddenly “appalled by horrific reports” with no evidence, while silent on the truly horrific atrocities committed by its allies, the insurgents — including documented evidence of their forcing children to behead enemies of the insurgency.

Here is what the corporate media will not tell you: the Syrian government has engaged in a highly successful counter-offensive over the past three weeks that has left the foreign based insurgency on the verge of total defeat. This is the impetus for the manic Israeli bombing campaigns against the Syrian government. The silly claims of the Israeli general falling flat on the still-professional US intelligence analytical community, things just became very grave for the regime-changers in the US and Tel Aviv. The only incoming Israel has received from Syria has been insurgent fire in the Golan intended to establish the illusion of an instability so grave it requires an Israeli military response. Israeli warhawks obliged.

The cost of the Bibi-ista tactical alliance with al-Qaeda will sadly likely be high for the average Israeli who wants no part of this fight. Not unlike the ultimate cost of US support for Bin Laden against the Soviets which culminated in 9/11. The Israeli peace movement is a final hope…we are with you!

UPDATE: Did Israel nuke Syria?

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Historic Damascus synagogue looted and destroyed

Assad forces and rebels trade blame for destruction of 2,000-year-old Jobar shul, Syria’s holiest Jewish site

Inscription on the Jobar Synagogue, near Damascus, Syria (photo credit: screen capture YouTube)

SOURCE

The 2,000-year-old Jobar Synagogue in the Syrian capital of Damascus — the country’s holiest Jewish site — was looted and burned to the ground.

The Syrian army loyal to President Bashar Assad and rebel forces are blaming each other for the destruction of the historic synagogue, according to reports on Sunday.

The synagogue is said to be built on the site where the prophet Elijah concealed himself from persecution and anointed his successor, Elisha, as a prophet. It had been damaged earlier this month by mortars reportedly fired by Syrian government forces.

The rebels said the Syrian government looted the synagogue before burning it to the ground, Israel Radio reported Sunday.

The government said the rebels burned the synagogue and that so-called Zionist agents stole its historic religious items in an operation that had been planned for several weeks, the Arabic Al-Manar Television reported, citing the Arabic Syria Truth website.

The news came as Jews around the world marked the final days of Passover, the festival of freedom.

One of the oldest synagogues in the world, the shul was partially destroyed by Syrian government shelling four weeks ago, according to a video posted to YouTube.

The video, uploaded by the Syrian opposition’s military council, appeared to show that portions of the building and roof were blown off, with debris seen on the ground in front of the synagogue.

An inscription in English at the synagogue reads, “Shrine and synagogue of prophet Eliahou Hanabi since 720 B.C.,” although the actual date of founding is disputed. One of the earliest mentions of the synagogue is in the Talmud, which states that Rabbi Rafram bar Pappa prayed there.

The synagogue served a large Jewish community in the medieval period, but by the mid-1800s only one Jewish family lived in the area. Still, Jews came from across the city to pray there, and there was a tradition of leaving the sick in the building in the belief that Elijah’s spirit might heal them.

Syria’s Jewish community faced rampant discrimination after the establishment of Israel. With Jewish property rights severely limited, the synagogue was taken over and converted to a school for Palestinian refugees.

Only some 20 Jews are believed to live in Syria today, all of them in the capital.

In early 2011, Assad announced plans to rebuild about a dozen synagogue across Syria, including in Damascus — a move that was regarded in part as an effort to gain some support from American Jewry.

The nearly two-year-old civil war in Syria has caused damage to six World Heritage sites, according to Al Arabiya. UNESCO called for the protection of the country’s cultural heritage sites last March, expressing “grave concern” at the time.

The UN estimates that 70,000 people have died in the fighting between Assad regime forces and Syrian rebels.

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Dozens killed, wounded in airstrike near Damascus

Jan. 2, 2013: This citizen journalism image taken from video provided by Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a fire burning at the site of a Syrian government airstrike on a gas station in the eastern Damascus suburb of Mleiha, Syria. (AP)

www.wnd.com  –  Associated Press

BEIRUT –  A Syrian warplane blasted a gas station near Damascus Wednesday, killing and wounding dozens of people and igniting a huge fire in what could be one of the bloodiest attacks in weeks during the 22-month civil war.

Activists said a single Russian-built MiG fighter fired a missile that hit the gas station, setting off an inferno in the eastern suburb of Mleiha. Black smoke billowed from the site. An amateur video posted online showed charred bodies and gruesome carnage at the scene.

Mohammed Saeed, an activist who visited the site, said the missile struck as drivers waited in line with their cars at the station. Syria has been facing a fuel crisis, and people often wait for hours to get gasoline.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human said “tens of people were killed or wounded.” At least 10 bodies were seen in an amateur video.

“Many of the people who were there were killed,” Saeed said via Skype. “Body parts could be seen on the ground.”

He said the missile fired by the MiG warplane caused a crater three feet deep.

An amateur video showed several vehicles on fire and a cloud of smoke rising into the air. The videos appeared genuine and corresponded to other AP reporting on the events depicted.

It was unclear why the Syrian military targeted the gas station. There have been clashes and shelling in nearby areas in the past days.

Saeed said there were two other air raids in the nearby suburbs of Maadamiyeh and Deir al-Asafir.

“Since yesterday the raids have been very intense,” Saeed said.

Read more:  http://www.foxnews.com

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Video from youtube – Graphic

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